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Cooking with the Candidates: Tim Kaine

Cooking with the Candidates: George Allen

“I thought I was coming to talk about policy and you put an apron on me,” Kaine said, adding, “I’m glad to be cooking with ya.”

Kaine said that, when he’s not campaigning, he often cooks Sunday night dinner. The candidate said he finds recipes either in the Wednesday edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or in cookbooks, like one from the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach, where he found the chicken recipe. The dish involves chicken coated in Virginia peanuts and cooked with cream of coconut.

In between monitoring the chicken and topping off the dish with peppers, Kaine made a subtle appeal to independent voters.

“I need to pledge to Virginians I am going to be a partner with whoever is president to do what’s right for the commonwealth and the country,” he said. “I am nobody’s rubber stamp. I have always done what I thought was right. I’m going to continue to do that.”

He noted that he has “disagreed” on several occasions with President Barack Obama, “but always within the context of, but I am a friend and supporter,” and also highlighted his experience working with President George W. Bush while serving as governor of Virginia.

As for the recipe, Kaine said, it’s “simple, it’s easy and it’s healthy.”

Allen, another former governor of the Old Dominion, also billed his dish as relatively nourishing.

“This has one tablespoon of cinnamon,” Allen said. “The cinnamon is good for you. So stick more in if you so desire.”

Allen, like his competitor, talked shop while cooking, discussing college tuition and energy independence. While serving up the crisp — he suggested topping it with whipped cream or ice cream — Allen, the son of late NFL coach George Allen, said the dish reminded him of the holidays, which this year will involve football and, he hopes, winning an election.

“Thanksgiving for the Allen family, you remember football games, and the Redskins will be playing this Thanksgiving,” he said, adding he hopes those Thanksgiving games happen “after winning the election.”

Readers' Comments (4)

Is Mr. Allen insane? A TABLESPOON of cinnamon? Is that how he will govern? "That enormous budget cut is good for you, so how about some more?" Maybe a TEASPOON of cinnamon, which is a third of that tablespoon he wants in there.